May, 2009

In a city boasting its very own Clockwork Orange a capacity Tuts awaits a performance which is proper horrorshow. Paper Planes open the evening with a stellar set delivered in their trademark bravado –a perfect warm up for anything. The sound owes a lot to traditional punk, there’s certainly a kinship with the sound of Blondie with the elaborate fuzzy bass lines and reverby surf sound of the guitar, from songs ‘Studio 45′ to ‘Diamond Diner’, the band radiate energy and effortless cool and with the stomping riff from ‘Doris Day’ still resonating in our ears the anticipation for the main attraction is palpable.

The Horrors are an interesting proposition. Debut album Strange House might have divided opinion but the band got a certain celebrity status all the same and then disappeared from view. With their second album they appear to have stopped toying with their hair and started gazing at their shoes and their sound and mood have altered drastically.

‘Mirror’s Image’ represents this to perfection. It’s menacing and lopsided, an intense little something that sits uneasily but draws you in all the same; like watching someone that could snap at any moment. And current single ‘Who Can Say’ is a real standout with a soaring synth hook acting as the lynchpin to a frenzy of noise. The resulting sound is peculiar but undoubtedly engaging, midway between threatening and anthemic.

Towering singer Faris Badwan has a spot of trouble managing with the low ceilings but before long is swinging from the rafters. Literally. His presence provides a real focal point and as he ambles and shuffles towards the crowd there are surges to get near enough for some fleeting contact. Enough of an excitement level is boiling under to get the Tuts audience properly involved and with each passing song it becomes more and more clear that their enthusiasm is altogether warranted.

For a set mostly encompassing new songs it’s remarkably strong and is refined by a degree of maturity. It’s easy to ravage a guitar like My Bloody Valentine and throw in all sorts of synth sounds but the Horrors use their new tricks to hone their style and to embellish upon their prior successes. An encore brandishes the old favourites and ‘Count in Fives’ and ‘Sheena is a Parasite’ sound markedly different to that which preceded them. All that’s really new, however, is subtlety. A greater understanding of their own sound and leaner means of recognising it have emerged, and whilst we came for the visceral rawness of the earlier stuff we stayed for album number two. Impressive stuff from a band moving in the right direction and a set full of welcome surprises. You can catch The Horrors and Paper Planes at T in The Park in July.

Words: Alastair Mitchell
Pics: Euan Anderson

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Kings Tuts is strangely bare tonight for what is a mouth-watering line-up for fans of the alt rock scene, with two of America’s hottest prospects on display the few in attendance are in for a treat.

When New Jersey alt punk act Titus Andronicus take the stage expectation are at a high especially after a storming performance at the same venue some three months earlier. The band seem rather tired possibly down to a hefty tour schedule, and the much smaller more motionless crowd failing to spur on the band who seemed to thrive off their crowds energy in February. Still, musically the band is as solid as ever and produce a strong set which only suffers from a lack of urgency and a crowd egging them on. With tunes like the self titled ‘Titus Andronicus’ and ‘No Future’ having this lot as a support is truly a bonus. Unfortunately the boys have still to announce UK festival dates but fingers remain crossed as they head back to the US for a full tour with Ted Leo and The Pharmacists.

The last time headliners The Soft Pack played Glasgow they were in front a full house Barrowland crowd waiting to see Franz Ferdinand, a difficult slot for any band The Soft Pack left me wanting more hence there is much personal excitement around tonight’s show. At King Tuts in front of their own headline crowd the band  as you’d expect are much more at home. The crowd however smaller than the Barrowlands was disappointingly as still as it had been then, maybe Glasgow crowds are turning into New York and London punters who remain static for gigs! There were however several really excited fellows keeping Glasgow’s reputation for a good crowd alive, they jumped about in jubilation to every song while belting out chants of ‘we are the Soft Pack’ after almost every song.

The plaid clad alt rock ‘n’ rollers have been compared to many bands at the pinnacle of the scene they occupy and tonight they go some way to justify why. Following a slow start in which excitement level does not reach too far past plain average the band kick into gear with recent double A-side track and arguably the highlight of tonight ‘Bright Side’ displaying vocalist Adam Lamkin’s distinctive alt rock croak best, although the rip roaring delights of ‘Parasites’ gives it a run for the money!

From this point the set keeps up the pace as the band play out with recent singles ‘Nightlife’ and ‘Extinction’. The change in gear seemingly stirs the crowd as they draw movement for the first time in the night, this however draws excelled excitement from the mega fans, mentioned earlier, whom Lamkin joins in the crowd for the closer, this coupled with an increase in volume provide an emphatic ending to a show and justification for their tag as one of the best emerging alternative bands of this year.

This weekend The Soft Pack are playing Primavera in Barcelona and will be back in the UK for a slot at Glastonbury in late June. Since tuts is also happens to be the home of the T in The Park organisers I wouldn’t bet against them popping up on their line up either!

Words: Iain Dawson
Pics: Heidi Kuisma

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Recently voted Scotland’s Number 1 Festival by The Big Issue, there’s just a fortnight to go until the gates of RockNess are thrown open for the fourth instalment of ‘The Most Beautiful Festival In the World’, so it’s with great pleasure that the organisers can announce the addition of several spectacular attractions to the bill, joining Flaming Lips, The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Orbital, Biffy Clyro, Placebo and current UK Chart Number 1, Dizzee Rascal, for what is their greatest line-up to date.

First up, the Rizla Invisible Players are back in Dores with a brand new line-up to smash it up highland style. After storming RockNess last year with standout sets from Graeme Park and Annie Nightingale, Rizla return with Soul II Soul legend Jazzie B, erstwhile Heavenly Social resident Jon Carter, grime and ruff neck hip-hop doyen Michachu, Super Furry Animals front man Gruff Rhys and renowned artist and DJ David Shrigley manning the ones and twos for what is destined to be another stellar tear-up. Playing from their unique musical van (a recreation of the original 1920s Rizla touring van) you can be sure to catch everything from heavy beats and fat bass to sweet soul music and psychedelic grooves.

Also banging the drum at this year’s festival will be one of the UK’s most well-known and successful tribute bands, The Complete Stone Roses who are set to join Grizzly US Alt. Rockers Bear Hands who will be bringing a large dose of their jangling Brooklyn grooves and psychedelic shimmers. Tipped as ones to watch in 2009, Bear Hands’ effortless cool has planted them firmly on New York’s musical map, marking them out as an act to catch before they become stratospheric. UK / Dutch duo Party Horse’s pumping beats and chunky riffing guitars will be making the crowd jump on Saturday 13th. Featuring former Tiny Dancers front man DK the band originally formed to play Moscow fashion week and have been taking audiences by storm ever since. Finally, taking flight for their debut RockNess set, The Wallbirds are ready to reveal their deranged indie with epic 60s pop vibes to an unsuspecting crowd.

And as if that weren’t enough to whet your appetite for a weekend in the picturesque surrounds of RockNess, here’s ten reasons why you should join us at Scotland’s Number 1 Festival over the weekend of 12th-14th June:

On the Thursday and Friday before RockNess make sure you get along to the GoNORTH music festival, held in various venues in Inverness, the annual SXSW style event is an industry showcase with free gigs and seminars. GoNORTH also have a stage at RockNess where the cream of GoNORTH will perform and punters can hob-nob with industry talent scouts looking for the next big thing. Already confirmed are Glasgow’s indie darlings The French Wives and Bergen’s rather wonderful Casiokids.

Tickets for 2009 are on sale now and available here or in person from MANIA, Inverness, IRONWORKS, Inverness, ONE UP, Aberdeen, GROUCHOS, Dundee, TICKET SCOTLAND, Glasgow and Edinburgh and RIPPING, Edinburgh.

After London and Leeds the Stag and Dagger festival rolled into Glasgow for the final day of this 3 day and 3 city festival. This is the second such event in Glasgow in a month after Hinterland a few weeks back and the appetite for such festivals is obvious with a huge line up Sauchiehall Street to collect tickets. Tonight’s lineup is packed with the best local bands and some rising stars from farther afield. Fortunately with a bit of careful planning and good scheduling on behalf of PCL there is no need to hike round the city.

First stop, NME Stage at the Captain’s Rest. Due to a change in set times at said venue the night starts with slight disappointment as I arrive as local band Over the Wall are on their last song, their mix of electronic drums, keyboards and guitar has rightly attracted a bumper crowd despite it being early in the day. We Were Promised Jetpacks are in attendance, obviously fans, Over The Wall will support them at their album launch on June 15th in King Tuts, we’ll be there to.

Next up in the same venue is another exciting Glasgow band, The French Wives, the venue is rammed and the Wives seem surprised, they shouldn’t be. Since I reviewed them 8 days ago, leave little new to report. Stuart’s had a haircut, they still sadly don’t count Sarcosy’s missus or that one out of the Clio ad among their number, and they’re still undeniably brilliant. Deliberately detaching myself from what I generally look for in their performance, I notice drummer Jonny’s exemplary bass pedal work and Stuart’s superb lyrics. The lyrics really speak as a snapshot for the city which shaped him. Each song stands as an image as iconic as the Clyde tower, The University of Glasgow or the Kelvingrove Art Museum, they speak for the city, almost as well as Alex Kapranos did on Franz Ferdinand’s debut.

No sooner had the French Wives stellar crescendo died down and it’s time to hot foot it to the ABC for Frightened Rabbit, the flip side of the scheduling change, the boys are performing a special two-piece brothers set. The ABC is surprisingly barren upon arrival but quickly picks up during the first two tunes, from first album ‘Sing The Greys’ as Scott announces:

“So, this is what we sounded like before anybody liked us”, a flippant crowd member replies

“no one likes you now.” This is clearly untrue, the crowd swells and becomes more receptive as more familiar tunes from ‘Midnight Organ Fight’ are rolled out from ‘Fast Blood’ to ‘Keep Yourself Warm’ and ‘Modern Leper’ to the delight of the crowd, inspiring mass sing-a-longs among all present. Grant looks possessed from behind the kit and the entire set, though wrought with technical problems, has a rawer edge and evokes more aggression than the more rounded sound when performing as a four piece.

There is barely time to catch breath before the second part of the Fatcat double header, The Twilight Sad, take to the stage. Several members of the band are sporting a new look since last I saw them, guitarist Andy guitarist has taken a bic to his hair and combines that with a beard, while bassist Craig wears a positively terrifying all encompassing head mask. Thankfully, this is all that’s changed; the set opens with recently leaked new song ‘Reflection in the Television’ it’s the first new song played in a set peppered with new’uns. These songs offer an optimistic slant regarding the imminent release of second studio album, ‘Forget The Night Ahead’, due in September. The set doesn’t forget how good their debut, ‘Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters’, was though playing through several old favourites such as I’m taking the train home, ‘Walking for Two Hours’ and the powerful ‘That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy’. They are still impeccable anthems and despite an overly grandiose finale, which irked some onlookers, but overall it was a real statement of intent.

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With highly rated local bands Paper Planes and Findo Gask playing down the street and Cursive and  Black Lips a little further there was some temptation to attempt a mad dash. In the end the Art School’s interesting lineup and close proximity to the ABC made for a far less stressful night. First up in the big room are Austin’s White Denim, the packed crowd know they are in for a treat when they blast into ‘Mess Your Hair Up’ from their first record ‘Workout Holiday’ before there comes a preview of songs from the soon to be released follow up ‘Fits’. The ferocious drive of the Texan trio’s renowned live shows with songs merging into each other gives an exciting unpredictability to their set. If ‘Fits’ carries on the momentum of their debut they could be one of next year’s crossover successes

Next it was downstairs for hotly tipped Chew Lips, one of the stars for this years Camden Crawl, NME darlings and booked for Glastonbury. Combine that with front lady Tigs increasing deva status and you’d be crazy to bet against this lot, with songs like the infections ‘Solo’ and ‘Play Together’ why would you. The crowd was sparse but those in the know were there to see a band on the ascendancy.

A short trip up the stairs of the Art School back to the big room followed just in time to catch the opening of The Phantom Band. A year ago they were playing venues like the now defunct Beat Club, Sleazys and all the others on the way up. Now. Their debut ‘Checkmate Savage’ is out on at Chemikal Underground. Tipped by MOJO and Clash as /the/ band to listen to in 2009, it’s no surprise to see the room so busy.

Straight after downstairs in The Vic Bar are a group who are much lauded for their recorded material but with a rather ropey live reputation The Joy Formidable . I don’t know what the fuss is about, they played tight and oozed confidence, looks like the package is coming together and again you’ll be hearing more from this lot. The night ends in Nice N Sleazy’s dancing with White Denim, Paper Planes, The Phantom Band and The French Wives.

Words: Chris Panks
Pics: Bart Photography

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The expectation was really high among the audience tonight at Nice n Sleazy. Coming out from the thriving Brooklyn scene (their label mate Crystal Stilts played a sold-out gig at Captain’s Rest this February), not to mention the recent double-page feature in NME, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are among the most hotly-tipped indie bands around at the moment.

By the time they took to the stage at 21:35, the venue was rammed. Opening with a B-side ‘Doing All The Things’ that received a relatively quiet reception, the band soon came into full swing with next tune ‘This Love Is Fucking Right’ and so did the audience. In no time, the drums kicked in and the frontman Kip Berman hit the chords for the single and one of the album’s outstanding tracks ‘Young Adult Friction’. They played tight and sweet throughout the gig. Wearing a blue cardigan, Peggy Wang was as sweet as her singing voice, bopping occasionally behind her keyboard. When her voice joined Kip’s on the hazy boy/girl harmony in ‘Stay Alive’, we were transported back to our bitter-sweet days of our teens. Finishing the main set with a self-titled song (what a lovely name!), they came back on stage after a few minutes with huge applaud from the audience to play two more tunes, ‘Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan’ and ‘Hey Paul’. They wrapped up the 45-minute long set with a rapturous rendition of the latter leaving the ecstatic audience with the blissful ocean of noise that would keep refraining in their ears for days.

I spoke with a few people after the gig. Everybody was telling me how brilliant The Pains were. Indeed the venue was filled with the distinctive ambience of its audience having just witnessed something special on the stage. We didn’t want the band to leave but a gig has got to end somewhere. The Pains will be touring the UK and Europe until June including an appearance at Isle of Wight Festival. Set list below:

Doing All The Things
This Love Is Fucking Right
Young Adult Friction
Come Saturday
The Tenure Itch
Stay Alive
103 (New Song)
Everything With You
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan
Hey Paul

Words/Pics: Takeshi Suga

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Tonight Copy Haho gently warm the crowd up with a combination of fun indie pop tunes and witty banter. Their chinwag between songs is amusing and refreshing. It shows that the Stonehaven four-piece are a band with personality and are not afraid to use it. Despite being an early support act, it is clear that Copy Haho have won the Stereo crowd over with their batch of catchy tunes.

The night unexpectedly takes a turn for the worse when an online American camera man/director hijacks the stage. He is armed with footage, a bed sheet and an overhead projector (literally projecting whilst balanced on someone’s head). Needless to say this 15 minute mish-mash of bands, vulgarity and shameless self promotion kills the atmosphere built up by Copy Haho.

As Times New Viking (not to be confused with Times New Roman) take to the stage the crowd seem suitably miffed after the previous stunt. The crowd are a tad bewildered and are craving some musical compensation. The Ohio trio start off strong with their offering of grunge punk. At times their organ riffs echo the mesmerising sounds of DJ Shadow’s “The Organ Donor”, but at other times it sounds like a toddler has been let loose on the keys. Similarly the desperately shouted raw boy/girl vocals jump between gelling and clashing. Their set is one that could easily whip a crowd into a frenzy, but tonight Times New Viking are lost on the now less than enthusiastic crowd.

Finally tonight the California sextet Crystal Antlers cram themselves on stage and launch into their set. It’s deliberately chaotic with a few precious moments of clarity. The band produce an almighty noise which is somewhat overpowering. Within the chaos of the crowded stage it is hard to know where to look. Jonny Bell grabs some attention with his incoherent wails, but tonight all eyes are on quirky percussionist Damian Edwards. Like a next generation “Bez” he dances enthusiastically, interacts with the crowd and even changes outfits. One moment he’s sporting a bare chest and sunglasses the next moment he’s wearing a tasselled waistcoat and a dreadlock wig. His performance is the compensation the crowd has been craving. He succeeds in making the crowd feel guilty for not enjoying themselves and they soon loosen up, even if it is just a little.

Words: Karen Bradley
Pics: Heidi Kuisma

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This Saturday the 23rd of May Stag and Dagger hits Glasgow for a one-ticket-gives-access-to-all music event across the cities coolest venues. Below is a selection of the bands playing and our recommendations highlighted! Doors open @ 6.30PM unless otherwise stated. The full line-up is here.

UPSTAIRS @ THE ART SCHOOL

Meaursault 7.00 - 7.30
White Denim 8.45 - 9.30
Phantom Band 10.00 - 10.45

THE ART SCHOOL VIC BAR

Everything Everything 7.30 – 8.00
Lemonade 8.30 – 9.00
Chew Lips 9.30 – 10.00
Joy Formidable 10.30 - 11.00

ABC1

Frightened Rabbit Brothers performing special 2 piece set. 7.00 - 7.30
The Twilight Sad new tune here: reflection-of-the-television 7.45 - 8.30
Cold War Kids 9.00 - 10.00

Captain’s Rest - NME stage w/ NME DJs DOORS 5PM

Over the Wall 6.00 - 6.30
French Wives 6.45 - 7.15
Blue Roses 7.30 - 8.00
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson 8.15 - 8.45
Paper Planes 9.00 - 9.30
Tubelord 9.45 - 10.15
Danananaykroyd 9.45 - 10.15
The Mae Shi 11.15 - 11.45

Nice n Sleazy

Findo Gask 7.45 – 8.15
The Gay Blades 8.45 – 9.15
Cursive 9.45 – 10.30
The Hot Club 11.00 – 03.00

Stereo

St Deluxe 7.00 – 7.30
Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers 7.45 – 8.15
BMX Bandits 8.30 – 9.15
The Aliens 9.45 - 10.30
JD Twitch (OPTIMO) 12.30 – 2.00

Classic Grand

The Elvis Suicide 7.30 – 8.00
Gringo Star 8.15 – 8.45
Mika Miko 9.00 – 9.30
Black Lips 9.45 – 10.30

Tickets are still available but will sell out when folks get their act together which will no doubt happen at some point between Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon!

The cost is a very reasonable £15 +Booking Fee and you can grab them here! Tickets can be collected from 2pm-10pm at the ABC.

On a typical Glasgow night with shoes wringing from the skydiving precipitation one of the best new venues in the city paid host to some superb sonic nourishment. Up and Coming promotion team Aerials, who operate in association with The List magazine, served up another fantastic night of Glasgow based music. The night was kicked off by an acoustic set by Jonathan Sellar, main creative force behind My Cousin I Bid You Farewell. His set was peppered with songs from the imminent debut album and despite recent departures from the band, Jonathan appears to have kept his eyes firmly on the prize, the songs are incredibly well crafted Boss-esque tunes with a soulful charm and Jonny’s stunning vocals laced over the top.

From the honey rich violins in the set opener, ‘Halloween’, to the stomping finale of ‘Me Vs Me’, The French Wives display their frankly unfathomable songwriting talent, particularly in relation to their age as a band. Less than a year after forming The Wives have produced two five-track ep’s, played every top night in Glasgow and even played at the last ever Connect.

In front of a star studded audience which reads like a who’s who on the Glasgow scene – from members of Brother Louis Collective, Tommy Reilly, Paper Planes, Frightened Rabbit and, of course, yours truly – the young band display their strident steps not only in songwriting but also in general presence. Gaps between songs which formerly held pensive silence are now filled with full band crescendos and this makes for a much more fluid feeling and radiates unflappable confidence, all you want in a band. With festival performances booked for the summer, including Rockness in June, the forthcoming return of guitarist Scott Macpherson from the USA later this month, I defy anyone to stand in this young bands way. The Wives also feature on The goNORTH 2009 Album alongside the wonderful Casiokids, Our Lunar Activities and St Deluxe.

During the changeover, I contemplate many things including whether the finale of Lost will be good, if my shoes will ever dry and whether going swimming in Loch Lomand was a good idea. I decide that, despite a life-threatening bout of the sniffles, the answer is yes to each. Three yes’. Almost like Britain’s Got Talent, without the heart rendering back story about being a virgin.

Afro-headed, bespectacled troubadour Ross Clark is the headliner tonight and judging from the swell in crowd numbers, most people are here to watch his unique brand of country tinged Americana. Tonight Ross plays without backing band, The Scarfs go missing, though all star collaborations are very much the theme of the night, first up is Roslyn Potter of indie-popster six piece Washington Irving. Later in the night backing vocals are taken up by Louis Abbott of Brother Louis Collective, the songs are delivered with passion and an unmistakable talent. Comparisons with Ryan Adams are perhaps inevitable, though, I’d imagine, flattering they are lazy and saturated, and I see more in common with the emotion filled lo-fi of Built to Spill and certainly the invention of Neutral Milk Hotel.

While I’m not willing to chastise Clark for being too imaginative, as I don’t believe such a thing exists, without the benefit of a rhythm section the songs can often sound confused and disjointed. That is nit picking though, and I’m not a primary school nurse. It is true to say that when Fhearg and Davey, from the afore mentions scarfs, join Ross at the tail end of the set, the songs begin to make a lot more sense, particularly on highlight ‘Three Blind Wolves’. The Closer, ‘Anthems In Clams’, is as hauntingly beautiful as anything on Heartbreaker, particularly when delivered the to deathly silent room without the benefit of amplification.

Ross takes his evocative out of Glasgow next for a show at the Electric Circus in Edinburgh on Jun 7, Academy 2 in Newcastle on Jun 16 and a solo show at Kings College, London on Jun 17. He returns to Glasgow on Jun 24 for a performance at Oran Mor with Sparrow and the Workshop as part of the West End Festival.

Words: Chris Panks
Pics: Takeshi Suga

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It’s been a good week for Glasgow photographer Euan Anderson who regularly shoots for us. Last Wednesday his picture of Sons and Daughters in the Arches at Hinterland got published on page 45 of the NME.

This week his work went on display at the fancy Princess Square (a posh shopping mall) just off Buchanan Street in Glasgow’s city center. Pictures include big Alex Franz Ferdinand at the Barrowlands earlier this year, upcoming Canadian band Wintersleep at the ABC2, Edinburgh’s Broken Records at Hinterland the other week and one of my favourite shots, an image of Scott from Frightened Rabbit playing at their SOLD OUT Liquid Room show in Edinburgh last year one of the last shows before it was tragically damaged by a fire.

His work along with other local photographers will be in the basement (next to Buzzy’s) until this Sunday (24th).

Jack Peñate is back and will be playing the Futures Stage at T in the Park on Sunday 12th July. For his second album he decided to rip it up and start again and the offering ‘Everything Is New’ is just that. Produced by one of the hottest British production talents around, Paul Epworth (who is also responsible for albums by fellow T in the Park artists Bloc Party and Friendly Fires).

Reforming in 2008 after more than a decade on hiatus, That Petrol Emotion continue a string of successful reunion shows with a slot opening the Radio 1/NME Stage on Saturday 11th July. Critically lauded for their highly skilled musicianship, intense performances, diverse influences and political agenda, the band were considered musical pioneers and we know the Balado massive will give their return a warm reception when they kick off proceedings on the middle day of T in the Park.

Filling the same slot on the final day of revelry are Northern Irish rockers In Case of Fire who have been lined up to open the Radio 1/NME Stage on Sunday 12th July. Tipped as a top new talent, the band who have been described by NME as a “skyscraping pop-metal hybrid”, were the viewer’s choice of bands to watch out for on MTV’s 2008 ‘Spanking New’ coverage and were the opening act on the Kerrang! tour this year. The three-piece released their debut album ‘Align The Planets’ last week.

Hotly tipped Manchester band Delphic take to the Futures Stage on Saturday 11th July and will bring a strong dose of 1980s nostalgia to the T in the Park proceedings. Influenced by Factory Records, the Hacienda and acid house they play electronic music with a full band line up and will be supplying Balado with some massive hands in the air moments as their superior brand of indie dance takes over the crowds in the Futures Stage tent that is the home to the hottest new talent at T in the Park this summer.

Acey Slade, played his first solo show in Scotland last night in Glasgow’s lovely vegan venue Stereo. You’d be forgiven for missing this place, down a lane near to Central Station with a Soho (Manhattan) feel to it, the venue is a refuge from all the shit bars in the area and a happy place to relax. Tonight wasn’t just a normal gig there was a little something special in between bands with some Burlesque dancers complete with a real life snake rapped round a young ladies neck. This was way better than watching roadies move equipment around and should be implemented at all gigs ever! Acey Slade if you don’t know already was was the lead vocalist and guitarist in the punk rock band Trashlight Vision. Since they split in 2007 he has guested with the Murderdolls, Amen and Wednesday 13.

New Yorker Slade’s debut solo album is due out later this year and was produced by Scot Billy Liar. As impressive as Slade’s set was we were actually down to catch exciting new group Patchwork Grace.

If your a fan of the Distillers or The Ramones you have to hear this lot, their influences range from Bowie to The Cure and you can hear an awesome cover of the later’s ‘Lovecats’ here. Tight is a word that springs to mind to describe them live, they gyrate round the stage and rock the crowd who gradually increase in number, possibly influenced by the fact you can just about hear them on Union Street over the sound of buses one block away! This venue is more used to knitted cardigans than ripped ones, beige not black and it is nice to be at a proper rock show, they come over as a harder version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and singer Tori Trash posses a genre defying bravado. This is highlighted by ‘Soap’ ( a few members of the crowd could be doing with some of this) a raucous affair that if this place was rammed would have provided an awesome mosh, next time perhaps.

Pics: Euan Anderson Photography

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Tonight King Tuts is home to Australian band The Temper Trap for what feels like an exclusive preview. Recently selected as rising stars in the BBC Sound of 2009 list the boys are visibly on a high after playing Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Swindon just days before. Their soundscape of hard rock guitars, tribal drumming, synchronised clapping and maracas is almost hypnotic.

Frontman Dougy Mandagi delivers a passionate performance with vocals that resonate somewhere between Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green and Prince. Just for a moment, he appears angelic during the beautiful ‘Sweet Disposition’ when the white and blue lights shine behind his head. This vision is shattered as he suddenly responds to the change of pace by bursting into a fit of jerky dance moves.

The pulsating rhythms are infectious and the crowd can’t help but bop and shuffle along. Just before The Temper Trap deliver their final song Dougy respectfully thanks the crowd for coming out for their first Scottish show and jests:

“Who goes out on a Tuesday night? Who’s looking after the kids? Glasgow you’re nuts.”

The show closes on a high with a performance of their single ‘Science of Fear’.

The Temper Trap’s debut album “Conditions” is due out in late June. It really is something to get excited about and was produced by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Massive Attack and Bjork) with recording taking place between London and Melbourne. If you were stuck in on Tuesday (looking after the kids possibly?) then don’t worry you can catch these infectious Aussies at this year’s T in the Park.

Words: Karen Bradley
Pics: Heidi Kuisma

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